Driving in Nagano in Mid-April

During our stay at Nagano, we would like to drive to the Venus Line, Jigokudani Monkey Park, and tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route (park the car at Ogizawa).

May I know if there is a chance for us to encounter snowy road and do we need to prepare for snow chains for the car?

Thank you.

Answers

Nagano Prefecture Tourism PR character “Arukuma”2018/02/19

Hi Fritz,

By April the roads should not be snowy, but I still recommend renting a car with 4WD and snow tires just to be safe.

On another note, there are some roads in Nagano that are closed during winter, one of them being the Venus Line. Unfortunately, the Venus Line will be closed until 12:00pm on April 20th, 2018, so you won’t be able to drive it during your trip.